Is God Telling Me To Quit?
This
is a very common question that is asked by people who either have received
injuries or have stressful circumstances occurring, especially on a steady
basis. Then, they begin to doubt
their vocation or calling in life. We
have all faced this from time to time when things are not going according to our
plans. People will often say:
" I guess that God is telling me to quit barrel racing."
I
am often asked to pray with this person or to pray for them.
My first question to them is always…."How much time have you spent
in prayer seeking the answers?" Most
of the time, their answer is: "none."
Lets
look at some of the ways that God leads and directs our lives.
I hope that this will clear up some of your questions.
These are some no-brainers, because they are clearly spelled out to us in
the Bible. When our mind is
enlightened and our heart surrendered, the way becomes very clear.
Even in times of change, there will still be a recognizable peace that
comes only from God. God is not a
Father who whacks us over the head and then says, "Figure out what that was
for!" He is a loving
Father who desires only one thing from us and that for us to become like His
son. He will use anything that
comes into our lives to transform us into the image of Christ. He will NOT cause things to happen to us, but He will use
them to our good.
When I first
accepted Christ, I wondered what I
was supposed to do to serve Him. I
went to a very wise pastor who showed me a passage from Basic Instructions
Before Leaving Earth. (BIBLE)
1 Corinthians 7 gives us clear instructions.
Read the whole chapter and get the whole context of what Paul is saying. Verse 20 states: "Usually
a person should keep on with the work he was doing when God called him."
Paul sums it up in verse 24 saying:
"So, whatever situation a person is in when he becomes a Christian,
let him stay there, for now the Lord is there to help him."
Do not struggle with the issue of changing vocations unless you are in an
immoral situation. If God wants you
to change, you will receive a calling that is hard to miss.
When
the way gets difficult and you become confused, ask for wisdom.
James chapter one is where you will find these instructions. Verse 2-8 states: Is your life full of difficulties and
temptations? Then be happy, for
when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. So let it grow, and don't try to squirm out of your problems.
For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready
for anything, strong in character, full and complete.
If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask him, and he will
gladly tell you, for he is always ready to give a bountiful supply of wisdom to
all who ask him. But, when you ask
him, be sure that you really expect him to tell you, for a doubtful mind will be
as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is tossed about by the wind and every
decision you then make will be uncertain as you turn first this way, and then
that. If you don't ask with faith
that he will answer, don't expect the Lord to give you any solid answer.
Lets
look at a conditional promise that has a prerequisite action required of us to
know the will of God for our lives. Romans
12 1-2 tells us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice which means we make
a conscious decision to live a holy, dedicated and well pleasing life and be in
reasonable service and spiritual worship. Then
it gives us a warning that we should not be conformed to the world and its
superficial customs, but to be transformed
by the renewal of our minds and receive new ideals and new attitudes so that we
may know what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God for you.
God's job is to transform us, but our job is to read His
Word and put it into application in our lives.
As we strive to do this, His will for our lives becomes clear. However,
many people want to know His will apart from the prerequisites, and blame God
for everything that happens.
A
Christian has the leading of the Holy Spirit to guide them.
However, if we choose to live a life that is not sexually moral, then
that leading is clouded. 1
Thessalonians 4 tells us the hard facts of sexual immorality.
This is something being ignored by many of our young and old alike in
this day. It states: "Now we
beg you - yes, we demand of you in the name of the Lord Jesus - that you live
more and more closely to the ideal. For
God wants you to be holy and pure, and to keep clear of all sexual sin so that
each of you will marry in holiness and honor - not in lustful passion as the
heathen do, in their ignorance of God and his ways." Verse 8 states: "If anyone refuses to live by these rules
he is not disobeying the rules of men but of God who gave his Holy Spirit to
you."
How
can we hear the will of God for our lives when we choose to live apart from His
instructions? The answer is that we
cannot live a life of disobedience and expect to hear the leading of the Holy
Spirit.
God
never leads you contrary to His Word. I
have people tell me that God led them to a Psychic or that God led them to a the
perfect man and then tell me that the man was already married.
It is so important that you know what the Basic Instructions are.
You cannot build your life upon principles that you do not know. To know the ways of God, we must read His Word, pray and
learn to listen quietly, fellowship with His people and allow yourself to be
transformed.
When
I was going through two shoulder surgeries in three years, I had ample
opportunities to wonder if God was telling me it was time to quit. On the last procedure, I had 8 hours a day in a mechanical
therapy chair to think and pray and listen.
I used the re-coop time after the first surgery to write a book.
During the down time after the second procedure I had time to start a web
site.
It was a time to examine the desires of my heart.
Did I still want to barrel race? God
tells us that if we delight ourselves in Him that He will give us the desires of
our heart. (Psalms 37:4) I still had a great desire to train young horses and teach
people. Since I still had that
desire, the motivation was there to go through the pain of therapy required to
get back where I could do those two things.
Ask
yourself if the desire to get back where you want to be is strong enough to
override the pain of getting there. If
the desire is no longer there, then you need to take a look at that and I bet
that you will feel another desire rising in you.
Remember that when a door shuts, another one always opens. Perhaps there is something else that you would enjoy doing
that would be used by God to bless the lives of others. Leave no room in your life for bitterness and self-pity.
They will only drag you down. You
will not be a blessing to yourself or to anyone else.
God
leads us in many ways. The better
you get to know Him, the clearer it will become to you.
If you feel that you have not been aware of or attentive to His
instructions or that you have been living openly in sin, all you have to do is
repent, turn, and start now to be obedient.
God's nature is to instantly forgive us, wash us clean and help us live
our lives for Him.
There
is a time in every life when we will hang up our saddles and go on to other
things. God's grace will prepare
each of us for that time and I feel that we will know when that time is. It won't be the same for any two of us. God works with each of individually. I am so thankful for His grace.